The Detroit Red Wings are returning to Traverse City for their annual preparation for the regular season.
The club made the expected the news official Friday, announcing dates for the prospect tournament (Sept. 16-20), the golf outing (Sept. 22) and main training camp (Sept. 23-28). The tournament and camp will be held at Centre Ice Arena.
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The Wings have been going to Traverse City since 1997, when then-coach Scotty Bowman began the tradition of taking the defending Stanley Cup champions to the picturesque area by Grand Traverse Bay. It was an instant hit with players, who relished the opportunity to play golf after practices, and enabled fans to watch practices and scrimmages.
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There were been two cancellations prior to the pandemic: The 2004 camp was canceled because of the labor dispute that wiped out the 2004-05 season. The 2013 camp was held in Plymouth because of a labor dispute that wiped out the first half of the 2012-13 season.
The prospect tournament features the Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs. (Everything is subject to potential travel restrictions because of COVID-19.)
Camp features Wings players, prospects and tryouts. They usually are divided into three groups (Howe, Lindsay, Delvecchio). The main event is the Red and White Game on Sept. 26.
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A full camp roster and the complete training camp schedule will be announced at a later date. For more information, including how to get tickets, go to centreice.org.
Ticket prices are as follows:
• NHL Prospect Tournament (Sept. 16-20): $10 per day (general admission)
• Training camp practice (Thursday, Sept. 23): $10 standing-room, $20 reserved seating or mezzanine
• Training camp practice (Friday, Sept. 24): $10 standing-room, $20 reserved seating or mezzanine
• Training camp practice (Saturday, Sept. 25): $15 standing-room, $25 reserved seating or mezzanine
• Alumni and celebrity game (Saturday, Sept. 25): $30 standing-room, $40 reserved seating
• Red and White Game (Sunday, Sept. 26): $20 standing-room, $35 reserved seating or mezzanine
• Training camp practice (Monday, Sept. 27): $10 general admission
• Training camp practice (Tuesday, Sept. 28): $10 general admission
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.